Home with My Sisters by Mary Carter

to her home now, Faith knew there was a motive, and wanting to make up for lost time, or bequeathing them some generous gift, was not going to be it. Not even close. The truth was—no matter how much she complained about them—she couldn’t let her sisters face that woman alone.
    She had enough guilt over abandoning her sisters. At least that was Hope’s version of what Faith had done to them. To this day there was this hurt, Why-did-you-leave-us? look in Hope’s eyes. What was she supposed to say? She was their sister, not their mother. Yes, she’d taken on that role, but could she really be expected to carry it on forever? Didn’t she have a right to live her life? Besides. It had all happened so fast. One summer. One summer had completely changed the trajectory of her entire life. That magic number seventeen. Seventeen-year-olds shouldn’t hold the power to make life-changing decisions, but that’s what happened when you didn’t have parents. She loved her mother, but Carla Garland could not be called a parent.
    There was so much about Faith’s life that she’d kept hidden from her sisters. Not out of spite, but to protect them. She’d always wished she would have had an older sister to look out after her . Tell her everything would be all right. Back then Hope was so sensitive to change, so clingy, but Joy was independent. Faith knew Joy was going to be all right without her. And Hope was just going to have to learn. Faith didn’t have a choice, she needed to look out for herself for once. It was just one night, one kiss. And it changed everything.
    The barking of seals brought her back to the present. Stephen was watching her. She flushed as if he knew everything she’d been thinking.
    â€œWhat?”
    â€œYou three should go,” Stephen said. “My mom will understand.”
    I was already going. You just have to act like it’s your idea. “Thank you.”
    â€œBut you can’t bring Charlie.” He spit out the name with the usual emphasis and sarcasm. “That’s my only rule.”
    My God. Who did he think she was? Why in the world would she want to drag Charlie into this? “You know I wouldn’t do that.”
    â€œI really don’t,” he said. “Do I?” Just then, as Faith was watching and Stephen was shooting her with another little stinger, Josh turned and looked directly at her. He looks sad. Fifteen didn’t seem to be an age he was enjoying. Was there any way that he knew about Charlie? No, it wasn’t possible. She and Stephen had gone to great lengths not to let on. What was happening to her sweet little boy? He used to be a mama’s boy. Always clinging to her. He was shy, and sweet, and thin and scrawny. He wasn’t going to be a jock or the leading man. That filled her with pain for him. But he seemed content to be smart and kind. That is, until this year. The change that had come over him was so startling. Usually sullen, and sometimes angry. And then last month she’d actually walked in on him after he’d taken a few test swipes to his wrist with a razor. And although he had sworn up and down he was just goofing around, that maneuver had landed him in weekly psychotherapy. Faith was even more unsure now about splitting up. She loved Charlie, but Josh took priority. Faith couldn’t help but feel like she was being punished somehow. As if she shouldn’t dare to be happy.
    Not that she had gone about it in the right way. But was there a right way to fall in love with someone outside of your marriage? If she had been honest, truly honest with herself, she never should have married Stephen. Was she supposed to just swallow those choices now for the sake of her children? Wouldn’t it be better for them to have a happy mother?
    â€œIt’s hormones,” Stephen said, watching her watch their son. “I was like that too.”
    â€œDid you try to slit your